Jalen Suggs could play again before the Orlando Magic’s season ends.
Suggs was upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s home game vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers (43-36) after missing the last 10 games because of a bone bruise in his right ankle.
Despite the Magic (20-59) at the bottom of the standings with three games remaining, coach Jamahl Mosley hadn’t ruled out Suggs out for the season even though he’s missed 12 of the last 15 games because of an injury to the right ankle — the bone bruise or a sprain he had been dealing with for most of March.
Suggs, the No. 5 pick in last year’s draft, has averaged 12.1 points (36.1% shooting), 4.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 46 games after being sidelined 20 games earlier in the season after fracturing his right thumb (shooting hand).
“You’d like to see him on the court at some point, but it’s not going to be to the detriment of his health,” Mosley said of Suggs last week. “I understand their ability to push through, but you don’t want guys to continue to have nagging injuries going through the summer. So you make sure they’re healthy all the way before they step on the floor.”
Franz Wagner (sprained left ankle), Cole Anthony (sprained left toe) and Admiral Schofield (left knee contusion) are also listed as questionable for Tuesday.
Wagner, the No. 8 pick in last year’s draft, was sidelined for the first time in Sunday’s 118-88 loss to the New York Knicks after starting the first 78 games.
Anthony aggravated his sprained left toe early in the first quarter Sunday and was ruled out of the game later in the period.
Wendell Carter Jr. is listed as out for Tuesday because of a sprained left wrist. It’ll be his sixth absence in the last seven games.
The Magic enter Tuesday tied with the Houston Rockets for the league’s worst record. If Orlando loses any of its remaining games — Tuesday, at the Charlotte Hornets Thursday or its season finale against the Miami Heat Sunday — it’ll be guaranteed to finish with one of the league’s worst-two records.
The teams with the worst three records have a 52.1% chance of obtaining a top-four draft pick (the same chances for Nos. 1-4) in May’s draft lottery.
The team with the worst record won’t fall outside the top five while the team with the second-worst record won’t fall outside the top six.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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